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03/20/2026
RESPONSES/COMMENTS (THE FUTURE OF PODIATRY)
From: Allen M. Jacobs, DPM
Podiatric physicians serve as hospital chairpersons of the medical staff. Podiatric physicians as chairperson of the hospital department of surgery. Podiatric physicians as chairperson or members of hospital committees.
If memory is correct, I park in the same doctors parking lot as the MD/DO. I perform surgery in the same operating room suites. I write orders for the treatment of my patients which orders are carried out by any and all hospital personnel. I sit and eat and exchange conversation in the same doctors lounge. MD and DO physicians ask my advice and direction for the management of foot and ankle pathology. I am treated as an equal and my DPM degree is respected for its representative accomplishment to...
Editor's note: Dr. Jacobs' extended-length letter can be read here.
Other messages in this thread:
03/23/2026
RESPONSES/COMMENTS (THE FUTURE OF PODIATRY) - PART 1C
From: Gary S Smith, DPM
I think there is a big disconnect between podiatrists. I don't think as a profession, we know who we are anymore. I think Dr. Jacobs, whom is a great lecturer, lives in a bubble and does not grasp the reality of most podiatrists. I was at a zoom CME a couple weeks ago and the majority of the lectures were about surgical ankle trauma, Charcot repair and MIS surgery that about 90% of podiatry doesn't do. I was at the Buffalo seminar last fall and there were no orthotic, diabetic shoe or podiatry instruments vendors. Obviously, it is not profitable for them to be there. Are podiatrists not doing these things? Are the majority employees and have no say in the choice of vendors?
If we are representing ourselves as “just surgeons" why would anybody choose podiatry over orthopedics? It seems that when I started 35 years ago, people were proud to be podiatrists and now they seem ashamed. I just watched another TV show a week ago where a podiatrist was the butt of multiple jokes from the other characters for not being “a real Dr." This is the perception of us that young people are seeing. We can't change that if we don't unify the profession around an identity that we can all ascribe to.
Gary S Smith, DPM, Bradford, PA
03/19/2026
RESPONSES/COMMENTS (THE FUTURE OF PODIATRY)
From: Joseph Borreggine, DPM
Two esteemed podiatrists, Drs. Amarantos and Jacobs have dedicated their careers to advancing the field of podiatry. Both recently have addressed crucial topics that are essential to our profession. Dr. Amarantos has expressed his concerns about how the podiatric profession has historically overlooked a vital aspect of our practice, biomechanics, and relegating it to a secondary position.
As a graduate of Scholl College in 1988, after transferring from CCPM during my freshman year, I was fortunate to have access to Scholl’s renowned in-house orthotic laboratory and the expertise of Professor Oleg Petrov DPM, a former CCPM graduate who joined the faculty in 1979. This collaboration between podiatric expertise in sports medicine and biomechanics became an integral part of the...
Editor's note: Dr. Borreggine's extended-length letter can be read here.
02/11/2026
RESPONSES/COMMENTS (THE FUTURE OF PODIATRY) - PART 1B
From: Evan Meltzer, DPM
I have been following the discussion of the possibility of granting a plenary degree for podiatrists. This has caused me to think about a number of issues. A podiatry program director might ask a third-year podiatry resident if they feel that they have enough extra time in their three years to also study internal medicine, family medicine, etc. And if not, how many more years of residency do they think it would take to become proficient in an additional medical specialty? What might the MD/DO program directors of these specialties think?
Another major issue is how each state would handle the licensing process. New York State was one of the last states to expand the current scope of practice to include ankle surgery. I can’t imagine how many years it would take New York, for example, to approve a plenary scope of practice for podiatrists.
Evan Meltzer, DPM (retired), Rio Rancho, NM
11/04/2025
RESPONSES/COMMENTS (THE FUTURE OF PODIATRY)
From: David Secord, DPM
I greatly admire the time and effort Dr. Tomczak puts into his messages to us. I'm sure that he will be remembered as a sage voice among us. As such, here's my two cents, for what it's worth:
I am of course as old as dirt and don’t really have a dog in this fight. I’m only still working because I lost everything I owned in combination with the Christus Spohn crucifixion and the 2008 banking-housing collapse given to us by the Community Reinvestment Act. Although I’ve taken the USMLE I, II, and III practice exams and passed with flying colors, we are at least a decade away from our two, divergent paths.
One will be obsolescence (brought about by Topor-induced, entrenched fiefdoms, no one will surrender); or common sense (add the classes and residency rotations to become on par with our other allopathic...
Editor's note: Dr. Secord's extended-length letter can be read here.
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